Letter to the Editor: On “Living the Green Life in Greenpoint / Williamsburg” (WG Nov 2010, Issue 24)
First, thank you for the very informative articles on ways that the Williamsburg / Greenpoint community can “go green.” I think it’s important, especially for those with the means, to move towards a sustainable lifestyle and to conserve as much as possible. I was surprised, however, that all of the articles in the series presented consumer-based solutions to environmental degradation, a strategy that I think is flawed and ultimately will not bring about the type of change that we both desire and desperately need.
The largest polluter in the United States is not the consumer, it’s the Pentagon. There are only 45 countries (entire countries!) that create more pollution than the United States war machine. The Pentagon is exempt from all climate change treaties, even ones that the United States is a signatory to (the Kyoto protocol, most glaringly). Beside the massive waste of transporting troops and equipment around the world to oppress local populations, the very weapons (depleted uranium shells) the Army uses causes lasting environmental damage on top of murdering civilians—cancer and birth defect rates in Fallujah, Iraq, have risen markedly since the US-led war and occupation began.
Photo by